Chapter 9
I swoop into the kitchen, where Ace is currently eating a piece of toast. He doesn’t even have to look up to know it’s me. “Hey, Scar.”
“Can I have the keys to your car?”
He stops crunching on his buttered toast to stare wildly at me. “No…”
I shrug, slinking back around. “I’ll just go hot-wire it, then.”
He’s in the doorway, blocking my path before I can even get to it. Suspicion is laced all over his face. “Why do you want my car?”
Mostly because it smells like your faint cologne and I’m faintly obsessed with it. “Because I want to go to the store.”
“For?” He presses.
I shift my weight. “Because if we’re going to the lake, I’m going to need a bathing suit….and the last time I was near water was when I was eight.”
“Oh.” He hesitates, stuffing his face with his toast. “I’ll go with you.”
I stare at him. “Why?”
He shrugs. “No reason.”
I know the reason. “You don’t trust me alone, huh?”
He flattens. “I never said that.”
“I wouldn’t trust me, either,” I shrug, swooping out the door and walking to his car.
He follows slowly, getting into the drivers seat. He doesn’t comment on my own words, but instead drives away to the nearest clothing store. I drum my fingers on the side of the seat, watching the trees pass by. “When do you plan on attacking the Vinges?”
“A month or so,” He shrugs. “Why?”
I stop drumming my fingers. “You do know it’s practically a suicide mission, right?”
He shrugs. “No. I have you. And you’re a great leader. With you, we stand a chance.”
I was thinking exactly the opposite. “And how?”
“Don’t worry,” He chirps. “When that bridge comes, we’ll cross it.”
I don’t ask any other questions after that. There’s no time, because we end up in front of a Sears. I jump out, not bothering to wait for him. I know he won’t wait in the car, because he thinks I might find a back door and escape.
He’s holding us hostage. But I know if I begged hard enough, maybe cry a little, he’d let me go home. But I have no home now. If the Vinges want to take over the world and turn us all into vampires, they’ll be able to do it. I don’t doubt it.
And here I am, not worried about it at all, in a Sears, shopping for a bikini.
I head straight for the juniors section, eyeing the bathing suits and bikinis in the corner. I grab the first one I see that’s my size; a red polka dot one that hangs over my neck. I turn around and almost bump into Ace.
His eyebrows go up. “Found one already?”
“Yep,” I answer. “Let’s go.”
“Did you try it on?”
I roll my eyes. “I hate trying on clothes in stores.”
“How do you know if it fits?”
I show him the tag. “My size.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“You just want to see me in this bikini,” I voice his thoughts.
He smirks, crossing his arms. “Actually, I want to see you in multiple bikinis.”
“Bastard.” I pass him, heading towards the cashiers. I place my item on the counter, reaching into my pocket for the loose money I found in some of my jean pockets.
Before I can get it out, Ace comes up behind me and swipes his credit card on the little machine next to me. My eyes widen, surprised, and look at him. He ignores me, smiling at the cashier. His fangs are gone; he must’ve hidden them. Vampires can make them come and go when they want.
As we’re walking out, I mutter towards him, “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I disagree.”
“And why is that?”
He shrugs, eyeing the car that’s straight ahead. “Because I feel like I should do something nice for you, since all I’ve done so far is kidnap you from your home.”
I stare straight ahead, too. He’s right, but at the same time, he’s wrong.
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“Grab the beach ball, Piers!” I hear Riker yell out as I walk down the stairs. I’m in the new red bikini that Ace bought for me. The boys are all crowding around the door, eager to get outside and do something other than training for once. Lexi straggles behind in her pink bikini, complimenting her dark tan, earbuds in her ears like always.
The scars on my skin are visible. Not from self harm, but from all the times I was attacked by vampires. There’s only a few, though, and they’re not very noticeable. I head over to the door, standing behind the boys. “What are we waiting for?”
“For Scar to get out of the damn - ” Riker stops mid-sentence, seeing me. “Oh.” A smirk covers his face. “Oooooh. I like what I see.”
“Fuck off,” I snap at him, pushing past the guys to open the door, stepping out into the sun. I have my towel dangling off my arm, brushing past my thigh as I walk towards the lake. Ace falls into step next to me, alongside Riker. “I still think you should’ve tried it on.”
“I disagree with you,” I tell Ace. “It fits perfectly.”
Ace smirks. “I can tell.”
When we get to the lake, Lexi reserves her territory in the corner, away from us. She plants herself in her portable lounge chair, slouches on some sunglasses, and soaks in what little sun rays are coming through the clear through the trees.
I set my towel down, close enough to the lake. Ace sets his close by, but Riker sets his down closer. “Your hair is pretty in the sun.”
I glance at him, then to the dark strand that’s hanging near my face. “It looks red,” I put out bluntly. It’s not a bright red, but dark. Like the rest of my hair.
“I know.” He smiles, not a smirk, for a change. “I like it.”
“Thanks…” I focus my attention on Ace, whose ripping his shirt off. I’m surprised for two reasons. One; he’s got abs. And they look nice. Two; There’s a dark black sun tattoo on the right side of his chest. It’s a black circle with the waves of the sun never touching it; they’re all an inch away from it. It looks…sexy.
“You have tattoos, Ace?” I ask with interest, purposely staring at the sun tattoo.
He smirks suddenly, flashing Riker a look. “Yeah. You like it?”
“Yeah,” I respond immediately. “You have other ones?”
The smirk grows. “Yeah.” He turns around. His back is even sculpted pretty damn well, too. On the opposite side of where the sun is located, all the way on the left of his shoulder, is a moon. It resembled the sun on his chest. The corners of it almost touch, and it’s a perfect half-moon.
“They’re really bad ass,” I comment when he turns back around. I’ve always wanted tattoos; but my dad refused. When he died, I got too busy to even think about them.
To try and distract me, I think, Riker swipes his shirt off and starts flexing. My eyes avert to him for a second, but then they go back to Ace. He sees this, and he turns around, heading straight for the water.
I’m pretty sure they’re in competition for something. And I really don’t want my thoughts confirmed.
So instead, I slink closer to the only boy who isn’t trying anything with me, and attempt conversation with him. Piers still has his shirt on, thank god, and he’s got a book in his hands. “Am I imagining things, or do you see it too?” I jerk my head in the two boys directions who are now tossing the ball back and forth like they’ve been friends for millions of years.
He smirks, flipping the page in his book. “It’s actually really obvious.”
A whoosh of air leaves my lungs as a new problem enters; now I have two boys to deal with. “You don’t…you’re not like them, are you?”
He shakes his head faster than I’ve ever seen him move before. “No.” He then looks up, concern flashing in his eyes. “I mean, not that you’re a bad person and everything - ”
I laugh, not hurt by his words at all. “I get it. And to be honest, I’m relieved.”
He seems relieved also. “Good.”
I smile, looking down into my lap. “So, where are you from?”
He grins, putting his book down on his lap. “You seem bored.”
“I am.”
He laughs, shaking his head. “I’m from Texas.”
“Southern boy,” I comment, grinning. “I’m a city girl. Well, not really…more like an alleyway kind of girl…”
“I know,” Piers says, smiling. “Ace told me. He talks about you a lot to me.”
Huh. “Really?”
“Yeah, he really likes you,” He says, glancing at the two boys who are throwing the beach ball back and forth. “I just think Riker is getting in his way.”
“Mmm,” I say, averting my eyes to Lexi. “And what about Lexi?”
He glances at her too. “She doesn’t want to be here. She’s told me. She doesn’t think we’re going to be able to do it.”
I smile, squinting because of the sun. “So everyone comes to talk to you, huh?”
He smiles too. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Piers is just that type of person. You can talk to him about anything, probably. He seems like he gives pretty good advice and won‘t judge you for it. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Do you think we’ll be able to do it?”
He hesitates this time, watching the boys with the volleyball. “Honestly?”
“Yeah.”
“The way you keep training us, yeah, we might have a chance.”
That’s all I need for my motivation.
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Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a couple days. Family issues (Sigh).
But now I'm back and eating BBQ chips.